The Other World
by maybeaslytherin
Summary: Companion piece to The Saved Child; a series of one-shots focusing on the relationship of Hermione and Severus following Harry's defeat at the Battle of Hogwarts; set in the AU Scorpius sees in the Cursed Child. SSHG


_I'm back! Alright so I'm planning to just make this a series of one-shots set with the other Hermione and Severus in the universe Scorpius sees in Cursed Child. I want to convey parts of their story, and how Serena comes to be, without making this a ridiculously long tale about the 15 years after the Battle of Hogwarts. I hope you enjoy. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. _

It all started with a letter. A month after Harry Potter has died at the hand of Voldemort, who gripped the Elder Wand like a lifeline. A month since Severus returned to Voldemort's side, claiming he had an antidote to Nagini's venom in his system so that in any case he may see the dawn of a new age under Voldemort's rule; a sentence that made him internally cringe, but had worked on the Dark Lord with minimal punishment. He mere suffered hour of cruciatus and, regrettably, an order to return as the potions master at the school; they had many professors to replace, after all.

A month since Severus had returned to his role, silently attempting to resist the efforts of the new rule, after his solace of about two hours near death. A month since the knowledge of his true role in the war had died with Harry Potter.

Or so he thought.

He read the letter once more.

_SS,_

_I hope this letter finds you alive and breathing, which I suspect is this case, though my memory would suggest otherwise, since we could not find your body after the battle. _

_Attached you'll find what is rightfully yours; I know you had given them away, but I'm also aware that they could be dangerous in the wrong hands. Use what is inside to open the parcel; it is something that I know only you will be able to accomplish. _

_I'll admit, I have viewed them. After the previous recipient had viewed them, I thought it wise to view them as well, in the case of... well, it seems my judgement, at least in this matter, was the correct. No one else has seen them, however. That is your decision, whichever way you wish to continue from here. _

_I'm not sure where I'll be now, but should you need a contact, please don't hesitate to contact me, I imagine the best method would be that which you used last time you contacted us. _

_I apologize for the delay in returning this to you; in the wake of all that has happened, my mind was not able to focus on anything but the dawn of this new age and the world we left behind. _

_PS _

_While my hearing has been impaired, I have reconciled with the brother who had betrayed us, so not all is lost. This will be the last of my compositions, though I do hope our shared upbringing sheds some light on the matter. _

Attached to the letter had been the memories he had given to Harry Potter, encased in a serious of impossibly strong wards that only opened in the presence of his corporeal patronus; he was the only death eater who could produce one.

It didn't take long to identify the sender; anyone muggleborn, few in his circles now, could see that the signature "PS" simply identified the post script message, which would reveal the sender's name.

Mention of a hearing impairment was obviously meant to be George, meaning that the brother who betrayed was Percy. George Percy. The use of the word "compositions" and the suggestion that both were raised in the muggle world implied that the name was that of a composer. One search through Severus's personal library, and he had found his answer; George Percy Grainger, Austrian composer. Grainger. This letter was from Granger. Hermione Granger.

...

Hermione had sought solace in the Forest of Dean, once again. She was staying at Grimauld Place with most of the Weasleys, however after the first Death Eater attack, they decided to split up; they couldn't afford to lose that many members at once. Ron had gone to stay with Bill and Fleur for a bit, along with George, to grieve Fred's death in peace. Well, not that there really was much peace anymore, but it was at least far away from everything.

After Hermione had snapped out of her lethargic haze following the battle, she sent the letter to Snape, not wanting to let her inside knowledge go to waste. Then, she started planning. While it would be most difficult for her to publicly resist the new order, with Umbridge as the Headmaster of Hogwarts and Yaxley as Minister of Magic; the search for muggleborns had intensified, though Hermione hadn't even known that was possible.

Instead, Hermione was set upon wreaking havoc in other ways. She sent howlers to specific locations in the Ministry and to Hogwarts in order to trip alarms that were designed to detect intruders and, while guards ran to catch said intruder, she would sneak around under Harry's cloak, destroying what she could, such as lists of wanted muggleborns and records on the Order, or rescuing those she could, particularly at Hogwarts; with the Carrows back acting as disciplinarians at Hogwarts, the torture on the remaining students with any amount of muggleborn heritage had heightened. Hermione couldn't do much, but she managed to rescue a few students from particularly nasty bouts of the cruciatus and administer a fast acting healing potion.

One night, after a near capture in Diagon Alley, Hermione was back in her tent in the forest, tending to her wounds, when a patronus appeared in the center of the room. Hermione stood up, inspecting it; she didn't know anyone with a thestral patronus. But then, it spoke in his voice, "There is much to discuss. Meet me by the frozen lake in the forest in an hour."

_So he was alive. And on our side, probably, _Hermione thought. She wondered if he knew that she was already in the forest, mere yards from the lake, though it wasn't so frozen anymore. She was eager to speak to him, though her heart raced with fear, fear that had pooled in her veins over the past year, with the knowledge of what had happened under his watch at Hogwarts. She knew from the memories that he was truly a good man, though it was hard to forget the villain he portrayed himself as; he played his role well.

In that hour, she contemplated who Severus Snape actually was. She also wondered about his patronus... it had been a doe, Lily's doe. Did its change in form suggest that he had changed sides, that he had given up now that Lily's son was dead? Hermione didn't believe it; Snape was a man with great conviction, and she couldn't imagine him changing sides after so many years.

Eventually, Hermione stepped outside of the tent, still within her protective enchantments. She noticed the figure, black cloak, black hair, facing away from her. She hesitantly, with much deliberation, stepped out of her enchantments and into view. She knew he could sense her presence, so she waited for him to speak.

Severus turned to regard her, taking in her rugged appearance. He motioned towards the forest behind her, knowing full well that there was a tent there, hidden by her well-cast spells. She hesitated, suspicion flashing in her eyes, but then she nodded. Hermione reached for his hand, and he drew back quickly, looking at her with confusion and anger; _no one_ dared to touch Severus Snape. She rolled her eyes and whispered, "It's the only way to let you in." Severus threw her one last glare then held out his hand. She very lightly pressed her palm to his and once again stepped through the wards.

He immediately dropped her hand once through the wards and turned to her. "They're terrified of you," he said instead of a greeting, "The ministry, Hogwarts. They can't understand how you're getting in." He phrased it as a statement, though there were a questioning, somewhat accusatory, tone.

"Good," Hermione responded tersely, disregarding his curiosity.

Severus sighed. While he didn't necessarily like Hermione Granger, she was his only chance to do something good, to help the Order. He tried to make his tone less harsh, "Thank you, for returning my memories."

This caught Hermione off guard, "It was no trouble, I'm just glad I viewed them; and I'm glad to have you on our side, sir. Though, there's not many of us left." The raids since the battle had nearly doubled the casualties.

"I know," he said, regrettably.

After a moment of silence, Hermione dared to say, "You're patronus changed."

Severus looked at her sternly, though he answered, "Yes, it has. I'm not sure when it happened, but I assume it was after Potter died." He looked away, angry at himself for talking to her. Maybe it was because, now, Hermione Granger was the only person alive who had any clue who he really was.

"I see," she said, clearly wondering why, but not wanting to ask. "It suits you, sir, the thestral."

"Don't call me sir," he said immediately, "I'm not your professor anymore and I'm pretty sure I've lost the right to be called 'sir', regardless."

"What should I call you, then?" Hermione asked. "If, that is, we're going to be in contact again."

"I think that would be best," Severus nodded, "I can give you information on current Ministry targets and hopefully you'd be willing to update me on the order," he said cautiously. When Hermione nodded, he added, "I suppose you can call me Severus."

Hermione smiled slightly for the first time since their conversation began, "Severus, then. And call me Hermione, please."

Severus nodded his head a fraction then smirked slightly, "You know, they're calling you Granger now. No one says Hermione anymore. Just Granger."

"Granger, huh?" Hermione repeated. She thought it over, it made her sound more dangerous, she thought, more of a threat... Hermione was the intelligent girl, Granger- the powerful rebel. She grinned slightly, "I can work with that."


End file.
